


Elevator Rides

by NikiAlex03



Series: Flufftober 2020 [2]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Elevators, First Meetings, Flufftober, M/M, Photographer Alec Lightwood, Stylist Magnus Bane, Subtle flirting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-08 05:01:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26780035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NikiAlex03/pseuds/NikiAlex03
Summary: Magnus and Alec fall in love, one elevator ride at a time.
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Series: Flufftober 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1947610
Comments: 35
Kudos: 184





	1. First Meetings

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! and if you're here from my last entry, welcome back! I really like this one, and I hope you do too. Kudos and comments mean I'll love you forever <3  
> Prompt list provided by @vex-bittys on tumblr.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magnus is running late, but he meets someone in the elevator who makes the morning a little (ok, much) better.

Magnus is running late, which is bad enough on it’s own but considerably worse considering that it’s his first day, and he’s a very easily fireable intern. He’s sure that his shoes weren’t created with the intention of the wearer hightailing it through the busy streets of New York City on a Monday morning, but he really doesn’t have the time to stop and think about how much damage he’s causing them. Because he’s  _ late _ . Almost  _ thirty minutes late _ , which is  _ ridiculous _ . 

Finally he sees the building in sight, and he crashes into the lobby and in the direction of the elevator pausing just long enough for the security guard to scan his badge and approve his entry. He’s lucky enough to get to the elevator just as another person is stepping in, and he calls out to them to hold the doors, which they mercifully do. Magnus steps in, thanks them profusely, and then gives himself a couple seconds to lean against the wall as the doors slide shut. 

“Bad morning?” The other occupant asks, and Magnus can hear the smile in their voice. 

He opens his eyes, “You can say that.”

His elevator-buddy  _ is _ smiling, sympathetic and just a little bit teasing, and his hazel eyes are regarding Magnus as though he wants to say more but hasn’t determined if a full blown conversation will be appreciated. He’s wearing a well fitted suit that shows off his body in ways that makes Magnus want to see him  _ without _ the suit, and his dark hair is just begging to have Magnus’ fingers running through them. Magnus knows he looks good, even after he’s been running, but he can’t help but feel like there were better times in his life that he could have been placed in an enclosed space with a man who looks like he just stepped out of a magazine photoshoot. 

Then Magnus considers their location, “Do you work here? Are you one of the models?”

The man seems taken aback, but he recovers quickly and laughs, “No. God, no. I’m more of a behind the scenes kind of guy.”

“Oh?” Magnus tries to hide his disappointment at realizing he won’t be getting the opportunity to style this man anytime in the future.

“Yeah. I’m a photographer.” He says, then regards Magnus with a quirked brow, “Are  _ you _ ?”

When Magnus frowns in confusion, the man continues;

“Are you a model?”

“Oh! Oh, no.” Magnus says, flushing, “I’m new. A stylist.” Well, a  _ stylist to-be _ anyway, “I work with Camille Belcourt.”

Something shifts in the man’s expression at that, something that Magnus can’t quite place before it’s gone and replaced with a smirk that could only be described as  _ suggestive _ , as he leans in and says, “Pity. I would’ve loved to photograph you.”

The elevator starts to slow down as they approach their floor, and Magnus is suddenly very aware of how close in proximity they are right then.

“Magnus Bane.” He says quickly, because there’s no way in hell he’s letting an opportunity to know this man pass him by.

And -he tacks on, remembering that he’s at  _ work _ \- it’s never too early to start networking, of course.

The man smiles wide, stretches out his hand just as the elevator comes to a stop and the doors begin to open. 

“Alec Lightwood. Pleasure to meet you, Magnus.” He says, “I hope we see each other around.”


	2. Compromise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flufftober Prompt: Compromise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few people asked for a continuation of this fic, and I have quite a few flufftober prompts left over that I can work into this AU. So here we are :)  
> I hope you enjoy.

“You’re late.” Camille says without even a glance up at Magnus as he enters her office. Magnus hesitates before moving any further, starting to give his explanation before he is stopped by her raising a single hand to silence him. Magnus ignores the desire to scowl at her. He’d originally thought that her attitude was a front she put up during the interview. Apparently not.

“Just don’t let it happen again.” She tells him, “Now. You can go get me coffee.” 

“Um…” Magnus asks, his head spinning, “How do you take it?”

Camille -for the first time- looks up at him then with a mix of exasperation and annoyance, “Black, obviously.”

Magnus wants to point out that it actually isn’t obvious, considering he’d never made her coffee before. But then he reconsiders and decides that maybe it  _ is _ , given the kind of person he’s assuming Camille to be based on their brief interactions. He turns on his heels and walks off towards the kitchen area. Not even Camille is enough to dampen his mood entirely. He’s working here, at Idris Magazine. It’s the best thing to have ever happened to him and what he’s wanted his entire life. Maybe he has to suffer for a few months working underneath Camille Belcourt, but he thinks that it’s worth it.

The elevator opens to reveal the kitchen area. It looks straight out of a movie, and Magnus once again cannot believe that this is now his life. It is spacious, sleek and well stocked with food and snacks, a few other employees helping themselves and chatting amicably with each other. 

Magnus is about halfway through getting Camille’s coffee ready when there’s suddenly a person next to him.

“Hello, again.” 

“Alec.” Magnus says, and has to actively try -and probably fail- to not grin like an idiot, “Hi.” 

Alec smiles over his own cup, and motions to the one in front of Magnus.

“You don’t strike me as a coffee drinker. Especially not black coffee.” 

“That’s because I’m not. This is for Camille.” Magnus replies.

Alec raises a brow, “She has her stylists getting her coffee now?”

_ Ah, fuck. _

Magnus wonders why he’s even lying to Alec about this in the first place. Alec doesn’t strike him as the kind of person to care. But Magnus finds himself wanting to impress the man in front of him, and admitting that he’s now lied twice about his role here doesn’t seem like the way to do that.

He laughs instead, “No. Maybe just the new ones.” 

_ Or just the interns. _

Alec makes a low noise and doesn’t say anything else. 

“What about you?” Magnus asks, “I imagine that you’re one of those people who lives off of coffee.” 

“Coffee and pizza.” Alec confirms, looking far too delighted at this statement, “It’s the New Yorker in me.”

“That’s probably why I’m not a big fan of either, then.” Magnus says as he begins pouring Camille’s now finished coffee into a cup, “I prefer tea.”

In a gesture that is far too adorable, Alec scrunches his nose at the mention of tea.

Magnus bows his head to hide his smile and elaborates, “I was born in Indonesia, but we moved around a lot. I spent most of my childhood in Spain, and lived in China for a few years as a teenager.”

“Impressive.” Alec acknowledges.

“And that’s not even half the countries I’ve spent time in.” Magnus says wistfully. There isn’t much of his childhood that he looks back on fondly, but getting to experience so much of the world had been a privilege. 

“You’ll have to tell me about them all sometime.” Alec says. 

Magnus almost knocks over Camille’s coffee, but he manages somehow to recover quickly and steadies himself with a mask of nonchalance that he doesn’t feel. 

“Maybe over coffee?” Alec continues with a smirk, “You’re a New Yorker now. Coffee is basically a mandatory part of the experience.”

“Is it now?” Magnus asks, ignoring the way his heart thrums inside his chest.

Alec grins, and Magnus finds it hard to resist anything that Alec might ask of him.

“Only if you let me take you out for tea sometime.” Magnus tells him.

Alec takes a second to appear as though he is considering the offer, and then he stretches a hand out to Magnus, “It’s a deal.”

“Excellent.” Magnus replies, and then he frowns, “I should get this to Camille before it goes cold.”

“Ah. Right. You should.” Alec says, but he looks like the absolute last thing he wants to do is let Magnus go, “I’m heading back up there as well. We’ll take the elevator together.”

Magnus smiles as Alec waits for him. 

He thinks that he’s really going to enjoy working here.


	3. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magnus has a surprising realization.  
> Flufftober Prompt: Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! Thank you to everyone who's reading, y'all mean the world to me :)  
> We meet Isabelle in this chapter!

“We keep meeting like this.” Alec says as he stretches out a foot to hold the elevator doors open for Magnus, who is wheeling a garment rack towards him.

“Busy day, then?” 

“You can say that.” Magnus replies with a huff, “We have a major shoot today with Isabelle Lightwood. Camille is already tense, and she’s taking it out on the rest of us. You’ve heard of her, I’m sure? Isabelle?”

Alec seems momentarily confused before he says, “Yes, actually, I have.”

They’re heading to the same floor, so as the doors close Magnus allows himself a moment to relax; shut out from all the chaos happening outside.

“She’s like… the face of this industry.” He says, “If this goes badly, Camille might skin me alive.” Magnus is aware that he is basically radiating nerves at the moment, but in the month he’s been at Idris, Isabelle is by far the biggest model he’s had to work in such close proximity to. He’s followed her career for years, and she’s always dressed in only the most impeccable styles. He thinks he’s owed feeling a little nervous, not wanting to be associated with anything going wrong for this shoot.

“Well, I’m sure that Isabelle will appreciate all of this… extra effort being put in to make sure she looks her best.” Alec says with a gentle smile, “Don’t stress so much.”

Magnus glares at him, and Alec laughs.

“I mean it. I’ve worked with her before. Isabelle is remarkably easy to work with. Don’t let the status fool you”

The elevator doors glide open and Alec helps Magnus to maneuver the garment rack out.

“And we’ll be working together.” Alec adds on as they start making their way down the hall, “I’m shooting this. Which I’m sure you already knew.”

Magnus did, in fact, know this. But he’d filed it away at the back of his mind when he found out and hadn’t had adequate time to freak out about it, the way he was doing now.

“I can’t believe this is the first time we’ve worked together.” Magnus says.

Alec chuckles, “Yes, well. I tend to avoid having to collaborate with Camille as much as possible. No offense.”

“None taken.” Magnus grins. He wishes he could do the same, but Camille had been the only opening when he’d been looking to apply. 

“Why do you spend so much time working with her, anyway?” Alec asks suddenly. His tone gives Magnus the impression that he’s meant to ask this for a while but had never found an opportunity. Magnus’ brain stalls and he hesitates answering for long enough that Alec shoots him a curious glance.

“Um, It’s just a sort of mentor-mentee thing, I guess.” He stammers out, “Yeah. She’s supposed to show me the ropes of working here.”

Magnus supposes that this isn’t entirely false. It’s just that his contract is only for a year and then after that, he isn’t guaranteed a job. 

_ Minor details. _

“Why are you working on this shoot, then?” Magnus asks, desperate to change the subject.

It is only as he says it, that it clicks.

_ Lightwood. _

He spins around to find Alec biting his lip to stifle a laugh at whatever expression Magnus must be wearing. Magnus starts to tell him off, but he is cut off by a squeal and someone running towards them and throwing herself at Alec.

Magnus feels like his entire world just fell out from underneath him. Isabelle Lightwood is caught by Alec, and crushed into a tight hug. 

“Alec!” She exclaims, “It’s been too long!”

“No one told you to go off to Europe for a month.” Alec teased. He sets Isabelle down gently, and then turns to look at Magnus, who has yet to recover.

“Magnus,” He says, at least having the audacity to look sheepish, “This is my sister, Isabelle Lightwood. Isabelle, Magnus Bane.”

Magnus thinks that he should definitely do more than stand and stare, but he is spared having to do so immediately after finding this information out by the scandalous grin that spreads across Isabelle’s face.

“Ohhh, is  _ this _ Magnus?” She asks. She moves closer to him and stretches out a hand, “I’ve heard  _ so _ much about you.”

“Izzy-”

Isabelle ignores her brother and leans in closer to Magnus, “He never stops talking about you.”

“ _ Izzy _ .”

Magnus laughs and accepts her offered hand, “Is that so?”

He shakes his momentary starstruck spell off and winks in Alec’s direction. He thinks the despair on his face is payback enough for not telling him about Isabelle sooner.

“Tell me more.” Magnus says to Isabelle. Her smile is radiant as she hooks her arm in Magnus’ and calls for Alec to bring the garment rack himself.


	4. Stuck Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magnus and Alec get stuck in the elevator

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is almost a month overdue. I've been really busy lately with school and all that, so I finally got a chance to dust the cobwebs off of this fic. Thank you for your patience <3  
> I changed the chapter count for this from five chapters to four, with this being the last one, because I quite liked the idea of the entire thing revolving around elevators and I didn't see a way to have the next chapter include that. But thank you to everyone who read this very mini-fic. I had a lot of fun writing it :)
> 
> Flufftober Prompt: Stuck Together & Dating Start

Magnus is speed walking towards the elevator, so quickly that he almost bumps into Alec as he steps around the corner. Alec frowns in confusion at the collision before he sees who it is, opening his mouth to say something that’s shut down by Magnus, who would really love to stay but doesn’t have the time to stop and chat. He shoots Alec an apologetic glance and continues on his way. He’s only partially surprised when Alec jogs to catch up to him.

“What’s happening?” Alec asks. He’s looking around like he half expects the building to be on fire. Magnus pushes the call button for the elevator and taps his foot impatiently, glaring at the display screen as it takes it perfect time coming up to this floor.

“Camille  _ ‘accidentally’  _ got a really important order wrong, and the only place in the city that has the correct one in stock right now doesn’t do deliveries on Fridays, which means I now have to go collect it myself. Except it’s halfway across the fucking city and I have approximately-”

The elevator doors swing open and Magnus jumps in, followed by a still confused looking Alec.

“-I have approximately two hours before the model gets here for their shoot. And we better fucking hope that everything fits the way it’s supposed to because we’re not getting them booked again if it doesn't.” 

Magnus throws his head against the elevator wall and exhales loudly. He loves his job. He really does. 

His  _ boss _ however.

Alec reaches out and squeezes his shoulder.

“Do you want me to come with?” He asks. 

Magnus’ eyes fly open, “Don’t you have anything to do?”

“Not at the moment, no. Nothing urgent, anyway.” Alec shrugs, and then hesitates fractionally before adding, “Also, I wanna spend time with you.”

Magnus smiles for the way that Alec’s face turns red with the admission. But whatever joy he’d felt is suddenly wiped away when the elevator jolts and then slows to a stop- the display screen freezing way above their intended floor before shutting off completely. Magnus stares at the now blank screen in horror before lurching himself towards the door and attempting to pry them open with his hands.

“Shit-” Alec fishes his phone out of his pocket and dials a number. Magnus listens to it ring for what feels like an eternity before  _ finally _ … finally, someone picks up.

He listens to Alec explain the problem, shooting furious daggers at the display screen to threaten it into compliance. When Alec hangs up, Magnus spins around to face him and his face falls in despair.

“They can’t have it fixed for another hour.” 

Magnus wants to scream, but he doesn’t; for which he’s proud of himself.

“Does it need to be you who collects the pieces?” Alec asks cautiously, apparently sensing the very thin line Magnus’ stability is threading at the moment, “Why don’t you call one of the interns? That is what  _ they’re _ here for, despite what Camille seems to think.”

Magnus does scream then. Or something like a scream. A short, garbled noise punctuated by his kicking the elevator doors and then sinking to the floor with his back against the wall and his head in his hands.

“Alexander…” He begins slowly, “I  _ am _ an intern.”

There isn’t any immediate response, and Magnus keeps his eyes trained to the ground. He doesn’t want to face Alec. 

“I… you said-”

“I know what I said. I lied. I wanted- I wanted to impress you.” Magnus admits. He has no idea why he kept this stupid lie up for so long. He’s probably just ruined Alec’s entire opinion of him. And why did he say it  _ now _ ? When he’s going to have to sit here in the awkward aftermath for an  _ hour _ -

But then Alec is laughing, bringing Magnus’ internal self depreciation to a surprised halt as he asks, “ _ Magnus _ , why?” 

Magnus feels like an idiot, and it must be evident on his face because Alec smiles reassuringly and sinks to the floor next to him. He shakes his head with a small chuckle.

“Magnus."

“I didn’t  _ plan _ to, okay.” Magnus tries to defend himself, realizing now how ridiculous he had been, “But it just… came up. And then it was too late to correct it. And I just… I didn’t want you to think it was… weird.”

Alec frowns, “Think  _ what _ was weird?”

“It’s not exactly a major life accomplishment to be an intern at 29.” Magnus says, avoiding looking directly at Alec. He suddenly feels very small, and being stuck in an elevator isn’t making his predicament any easier.

Alec is quiet for a long enough moment that Magnus contemplates saying something else to make himself seem less pathetic, but just as he opens his mouth, Alec takes his hand in his own.

“Magnus, I don’t care about that.” 

“It’s not-”

“You clearly have a passion for what you do. There’s no… time limit to getting things done.” Alec tells him. 

Magnus knows this. Of course he does. He’d known that when he applied for this position, but that didn’t make it any easier.

“I worked for my father, before.” Magnus explains, “But we don’t exactly have a… great relationship.”

Alec scoffs, “I can relate to that.”

“You can?”

“My dad is…” Alec trails off as though he can’t find an appropriate word to express what he thinks of his father, and it is sentiment that Magnus does understand.

“Yeah.” He says with a small smile, “Yeah, I get that. I stayed for so long because I thought I was doing the right thing, trying so hard to impress him and make him happy. But eventually I realized that it wasn’t the best decision for me and so I left, to go back to school, and pursue what I was  _ actually _ passionate about.”

“And you thought I wouldn’t understand that?”

Magnus flushes, twirling the rings on his hand sheepishly, “I… admittedly didn’t think about that. Just the  _ being an intern at 29 _ thing.”

Alec rolls his eyes. He settles himself onto the ground in a more comfortable position, urging Magnus to do the same until they are sitting right next to each other, shoulders almost touching.

“I’d love to hear what else you lied to me about.” Alec says, but his tone is teasing.

“I didn’t lie.” Magnus defends himself, “I just… didn’t tell the truth.”

“Well then.” Alec amends with a small laugh, “I’d love to hear more about what you did before you came here. You can tell me on that date you promised me.”

Magnus' brow furrows, “What da-  _ oh _ .” 

Alec raises a brow, “Did you forget about our date?” 

“It was over a month ago! I didn’t think you meant it.”

“I definitely meant it." Alec quickly assures him. He frowns, " That is… do you want to?” 

It was Alec’s turn to look sheepish, “It’s okay if you don-”

“Alexander.” Magnus cuts him off, “I _definitely_ want to. I would love to. Besides, like you said, coffee is a mandatory part of being a New Yorker.” 

Alec’s grin is wide and contagious, tugging up the corners of Magnus’ lips as well. Alec reaches his hand out to entwine it with Magnus'.

Suddenly thoughts of the appointment and Camille are the furthest thing from his mind. She can figure it out herself, for once. Or torment someone else into doing her bidding.

“I know the perfect place.” Alec says.

Magnus hums in acknowledgement, “So long as it’s not an elevator.”

“No.” Alec laughs, “Not this time.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm @nerdesqque on twitter and @nikialexx on tumblr, come say hi!


End file.
